Francesca is beside herself after receiving this email on almost no notice:
[W]e regret to inform you that lizclaiborne.com will be closing on December 17, 2009 at 11:59 PM ET. Afterwards, consumers will no longer be able to make online purchases through our site. Consumers can still find our merchandise at Liz Claiborne New York outlet stores across the country (visit lizclaibornestores.com to find one near you). And starting this Fall 2010, Liz Claiborne New York will be coming to QVC.
!!!
So today is the last day to get ANY goodies you want from their website. Everything is on sale. You also get 2-day shipping for a flat rate of $5 if you order $75 or more.
Francesca says:
:-(
I am especially shocked about this because I used to work at the European headquarters of Liz Claiborne and lots of my friends still work there. I wonder if that means that a lot of people will be fired.
Comment by Ali — December 17, 2009 @ 9:49 am
i’m so sorry — liz claiborne has a great sportswear history. she was an entrepreneur! first company founded by a woman to make the Fortune 500!
here’s a recent WSJ story about what’s going on:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091207-709697.html
again, i’m sorry for the fans of the company and for the employees.
Comment by marjorie — December 17, 2009 @ 11:27 am
Oh Mr. Twistie? I know it’s Christmas time and you promised me a new gas stove(!) soon, but I’m about to do major damage to our credit rating. I do hope you’ll understand and still let me have my new stove. I promise not to go professional grade as long as I can have that adorable tweed jacket and a couple deliciously orange sweaters.
Comment by Twistie — December 17, 2009 @ 11:57 am
I remember thinking upon my first few visits to the site, that ‘if only they made their straight size stuff in plus!’, because it was so cute. I suppose the straight size consumers have so many other options that lc simply isn’t a high enough priority to shop.
My condolences to their staff and customers. They had some really cute things in plus sizes too. I wonder if this means Mizrahi will come back to target? If only he would open up a claiborne-esque site, with plus sizes! *sigh*
Comment by ginag — December 17, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
I suspect that Mizrahi/Liz on QVC will have plus. Most people who sell on shopping channels have to do plus offerings. Even designers like Shoshanna and Tracy Reese, who don’t go past 12 in their department store/boutique lines, have put their names on plus-sized pieces sold on HSN.
Comment by OCCaliAKA — December 17, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
In examining Liz Claiborne’s history with plus-size clothing, I feel the company gave it the good old college try but never really understood the market. The Elisabeth store and website were great when they started, then just lost steam. LC thought all plus-size women were older women and didn’t tap into the younger, hipper size 14+ market. The clothing was very well-made but pricey. If they wanted to sell to the plus-size market profitably, they should have promoted their merchandise with more advertising, more fashion shows–they could have been the upscale Lane Bryant–wouldn’t we all love to spend our money in that kind of a store? I was very disappointed when Elisabeth disappeared and didn’t find enough on Liz Claiborne’s plus-size website to attract my business. When a website disappears, it doesn’t portend well for a company. Liz Claiborne is obviously in trouble.
Comment by Mimi Stratton — December 17, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
I ordered a few things from that site but was consistently disappointed in the fit. Everything was extremely frumpy and out of date. Not surprised to see it go.
Comment by Chiken — December 18, 2009 @ 4:09 pm